Wednesday, May 17, 1967

Waltre R. Shaw: No, I think that is difficult; it is not a fair question.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: Mr. Speaker, if I might just continue with some figures I have here and I will try to make them as simple and as brief as I can. I want, however, to show the honourable members of this House that the Universities in this rovince, in my opinion at least, have not been short-changed as was charged in this gislature yesterday. They are doing better than they did a year ago, as I said a moment ago, to the extent of nineteen point nine percent.

L. George Dewar: You are not giving them a cent.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: Now I know that you can do almost anything you wish with figures and, if you don’t believe me, I suggest that my predecessor in

office who did a great many marvellous things with figures yesterday as he moved them around from one place to another.

L. George Dewar: All true.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: This is the situation that prevailed last year. Five dollars per capita came to this province-roughly $545,000.00. It did not come through the provincial government, it went to the Universities concerned. In this case, St. Dunstan’s University and Prince of Wales College, and was paid to them directly. This amount was divided between the two institutions on a basis of their university enrollment, and if we look into the next academic year, and use this same formula. we would find that point five five of federal grant, if we call it that, would go to St. Dunstan's with an enrollment of 875, and point four five to Prince of Wales with an anticipated enrollment of 700 students. If the former formula was being followed for 1967-1968, this is what St. Dunstan’s would get: $299,750.00, plus the 875 students multiplied by $300, which was the vote made by this Legislature last year in support of higher education, giving them $262,500.00, making a total of $562,250.00. It is not being followed: we as a government have decided that St. Dunstan’s University shall get $775.00 per student, which means an income to that institution of $678,125.00, an increase to St. Dunstan’s University of $115,875.00, under this revised scheme, keeping in mind their anticipated enrollment. Looking at Prince of Wales, had the formula of a year ago been applied they would have received $580,250.00. Under the new arrangement Prince of Wales College will receive $542,500.00, along with a maintenance or establishment grant of $150,000.00, giving them a total of $692,500.00. Their increase, using this formula, being $112,250.00. The total increase to the universities of this province under the arrangement pre-

sently being followed is $228,125.00, or, as I said, 19.9% higher than under the old formula.

L. George Dewar: You are still not giving them this out of provincial funds.

Honourable Gordon L. Bennett: I presume, as far as the universities are con-

cerned, money is money, and they don’t care whether it is federal, provincial or municipal as long as it is a legal tender at the bank.

I will admit that the universities will probably not be satisfied with what we have done. We have increased their revenues; we are providing for the Uni- versities $1,370,625.00, and this is big money in a province of this size. $1,370,625.00 for the two institutions of higher learning, and they, in turn, will obtain roughly $630,000.00 from tuition fees. I maintain, Mr. Speaker, that there is another source of revenue that the Universities of this province must tap and that is the funds that could be available through endowments of various kinds. I think the Universities themselves must move to raise money on their own. It is not for me to indicate

what type of campaign they should follow, when it should be done, or how it should be done, but I maintain that there are the three main sources of revenue for a university. The Federal-Provincial grants, the tuition fees of the students, and the revenues that the institutions can obtain on their own through other sources. I understand that one of them has embarked on a campaign to raise funds to build a new library; this is the sort of thing that should be encouraged, and I maintain, Mr. Speaker, will have to be extended by both institutions.

J. Cyril Siunott: Would the Minister permit a question? Honourable Gordon L. Beunct: Yes Sir. —435—